The concept of Hollow Pilgrim stems from that which the medievalpeasant feared the most – not an honest death, not the long sufferingof Purgatory and not even the temptation and eventual, justifieddamnation of the sinner but the soul-searing agony of dying unshriven.

In the mid-14th century, when what would become known as the Black Death was at its height in Britain, the death-toll amongst lay and clergy was so great that many died without being able to confess to a priest, repent their sins and hence be absolved. This meant that, strictly, the bodyshould not be buried in consecrated land but, more terrifyingly, the soulwould remain ever apart from the Lord. Not only were corpses left invast pits, targets for mundane predators as well as the ghastlypossibility of nocturnal resurrection by some unearthly power, but thebelief that lingering souls would eventually turn on the living waswidespread. The religious and sociological horror that this created would leave a psychic stain on the country.

For Wraiths, Hollow Pilgrim is a transitional work. They’ve opened upthe palette used to create the sounds – the core of broken instrumentshas been augmented by modified accordion and an increased focus onvocals, some equipment was intentionally sabotaged – and used therecording session for these two pieces to explore similar sounds, usedin different ways. Combined with the recent collaboration withPyramids, this period of transformation is necessary. Their methods havebecome more focused and will continue in this vein. Wraiths cast off yetmore humanity like the dead skin it is…

Originally released as a limited edition cassette on Lysergic Earwax in April 2010, ‘Theory & Practice’ is a splicing together of drone theory and Berlin School electronics.

‘Theory’ is a studio recording using guitar and synthesiser fed through a tape delay system, creating a roughly hewn homage to the Yoshi Wada/Phill Niblock school of Minimalism.

‘Practice’ is a live reworking of the same material with the addition of C. Mitchell on cymbals. Further sequencer-driven embellishments were then added in the studio, pushing the piece outward into Kosmische space-time.

SNA003

Nicholas Szczepanik title to be confirmed LP

SNA004

Matthew Swiezynski title to be confirmed LP

info@staticnoiseaudio.co.uk

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